During the Mexican-American War of the 1840s, a battalion of Irish emigrants to North America fought on the Mexican side of the war. They are known, and remembered in Mexico, as Los San Patricios (30-second RA sample of The Fenians’ “The San Patricios”).

Despite an obscure movie, a documentary, and another song or two (Why are all these songs by Irish-American bands? Why no mariachi bands or full-on traditional numbers?), the Patricios are little known in the U.S. This might well be due to the fact that many of the Irish fighting with the Mexicans were deserters from the U.S. military. I find it interesting that the San Patricios are credited wih having played a key role in the defense of Monterrey, one of the two Mexican citites where I spent significant time as a child.

I stumbled across this site years ago while in the Bare Knuckle Boxers. We played a tune called “The Gallowglass,” which years later I learned was an Hibernian Anglicization of a Scots Gaelic word, “Gall Oglaighs,” which was applied as a class to Scots fighters, of Viking heritage, who came to Ireland to fight as mercenaries but became a recognized element of Irish society.

May I suggest you listen to our version of the tune and think, for a moment, about the role of war and violence in Irish history. Then, shake it off and hoist a few.